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Gareth Edwards Talks About His Approach to 'Godzilla' Reboot (Video)

Warner Bros. Pictures

"It was really a case of let's take this seriously, let's make the most realistic thing we can," says the director of Legendary's revival of the classic monster.

What makes Gareth Edwards the man to helm Legendary's big-screen Godzilla reboot? A new video lets the director talk about the influence of the original movie, Steven Spielberg and why Godzilla should be "visual foreplay" for the audience.

Pointing out the atomic fear metaphor underneath the original Godzilla movie, Edwards said that he hoped to take a similarly serious attitude toward the new movie. "In terms of Godzilla, it was really a case of let's take this seriously, let's make the most realistic thing we can and also, let's hark back to that style of filmmaking that I grew up with and a lot of the people we worked with grew up with,” he said.

That style of filmmaking turns out to be "those early Spielberg movies," Edwards explained, which "get the balance right with the suspense, along with the action and the CGI." The director noted that it's "very easy to get seduced by the visual effects" and said that he worked to ensure a properly balanced movie this time around. "It's one big visual foreplay, I think, in terms of the movie," he said, "in terms of trying to give the audience goose bumps when they watch this stuff."

Godzilla will be released May 16. Watch Edwards talk about the movie below.